New Sproul App video: Financial Aid 101

The world of undergraduate Financial Aid can be complicated — so much so, in fact, that many families and students from the United States never apply despite financial situations that would make them eligible for assistance. That is one reason UC Berkeley is launching a new effort to ensure that families and students get the support and information they need.

In a new video, Anne De Luca, associate vice chancellor for admissions and enrollment, presents basic information about Financial Aid and solicits follow-up questions from prospective and current students and their families.

De Luca’s video can be viewed in two places: For those who want to pose questions or post comments, the video is available on the campus’s interactive Sproul Plaza app on the UC Berkeley Facebook page. Like its namesake, the app is a place for members of the Cal community to gather, have their voices heard and get the information they need.

Access the “Sproul Plaza” app by clicking on its icon in the menu bar (below the large photo at the top and just to the right of Photos).

After watching the video, you can post your own comments and questions or vote for questions others have already posted.

Be sure to come back next week, when De Luca will return in a new video with answers to the top vote-getting questions.

The video can also be seen here, on this page; but to post questions or comments, you’ll need to use the app’s interactive features.

Beyond the usual complexity of the financial-aid process, De Luca notes that the 2012-13 academic year will mark the first time the campus is granting awards from its new program for middle-class families. Berkeley MCAP (middle class access plan) is a groundbreaking initiative for U.S. families whose gross income ranges from $80,000 to $140,000 annually, and caps the contribution parents make toward the total annual cost of a UC Berkeley student’s education at 15 percent of their total income.

‘We know that there will be a lot of families and students who will be exploring financial aid options for the first time,” De Luca says. “We want to make sure they have the information they want, to access the resources they need.”